Pyyvaara/McLoughlin
second in China |
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Latest news:
September 2003 |
In a rally of many firsts including a left-hand drive vehicle in a
foreign country, Paul Pyyvaara and Anthony McLoughlin successfully partnered to
finish second outright and second in Group N in last weekend's Chinese National
Rally Championship in Long You city.
Paul's long time engine builder, Robin Berardo of PerFOURmance Motorsports in
Brisbane's Southside, opened the door for Paul and Anthony to compete abroad
earlier in the year, however the SARS virus delayed their start until last
weekend. Robin has been working with the Chinese Wei Long Motorsports team
throughout 2003, assisting them in development and maintenance of their fleet
of cars, including three WRX STi version 3 and one Evo
7 Lancer.
With the Chinese team well aware that
Two days of testing with the Chinese VW team prior to the event had been
planned to allow Paul and Anthony to familiarise
themselves with both the car and local conditions, however a delay in the
delivery of the team vehicles resulted in only 12km of testing - barely enough
time to gain a good feel for the car. Therefore, the competition vehicle was
used for recce - something allowed in
Friday was the opening ceremony and media day. This was a little different to
Australia as it began with a long 160km police escorted convoy through villages
to a neighboring city, with anti-lag echoing in the main streets off the
surrounding buildings.
Now that the lead up was completed it was time for Pyyvaara/McLoughlin to show
what they could do. The rally consisted of four separate stages including a
super special stage where two cars ran head to head, much like the Langley Park
concept in Rally
Day one was short with two stages, each run twice with only 37km of competitive
distance. Day two also consisted of two stages,
each run three times with a competitive distance of 100km. With
temperatures reaching 38 degrees this was a physically challenging event as
well!
Fast flowing roads became tight and twisty through villages and the surrounding
mountains. A very loose surface provided further challenges in tyre choice and
pressures.
With a planned cautious start Pyyvaara/McLoughlin increased their speed through
the first day. Stages 1 and 3 were the autocross circuit with the 5th quickest time on both runs - the dust from the
other car causing a problem as it drifted across the track on the second pass.
Stages 2 and 4 again were the same stage and Pyyvaara/McLoughlin were 3rd
quickest on the first run and 2nd quickest on the second run, a full 16 seconds
faster than on the first pass as confidence was gained. This resulted in 3rd
outright position for the day, 7 seconds from 2nd place and 8 seconds from
leader Chan Chi Wah - a driver for the Honghe team being the main competition for Pyyvaara.
A minor mishap on stage 2 resulted in a broken indicator on the right side of
the car - Pyyvaara admitting to turning in too early as if driving a right hand
drive car. With six stages on day two, he only needed a few seconds per stage
to make up the gap.
Day two was another hot and humid day in Long You (37 degrees Celcius) and one of the most difficult days
Pyyvaara/McLoughlin had ever experienced in rallying. The humidity and high
temperatures meant that drinking plenty was imperative to ensure dehydration
would not be a problem. After the final stage Pyyvaara required some time
in the car before being able to walk without feeling dizzy.
Stage 5 was a mix of reasonably fast flowing stages, the odd few hundred metres
through a village and some very tight and twisty corners up in the hills - a
real challenge. Unfortunately Pyyvaara had a slow start being 18 seconds off
the pace of leading Chinese driver Chan Chi Wah. The
second stage saw Pyyvaara a further 10 seconds away, giving the leader a good
40 second buffer.
For the second run the Australians decided it was time to commit more, giving them the 2nd quickest time on the first stage,
and with a blistering time they were quickest on stage 8. The team was
beginning to close the gap.
A puncture and loose rear control arm on this stage saw the car a little
unstable but the commitment was there. With 26 seconds to make up on the final
run of the two stages, Pyyvaara threw caution to the wind and again went
quicker, setting the fastest time to eventually finish 9.2 seconds behind the
winner. In the final stage, which was fast and flowing, the team was an
incredible 13 seconds quicker than their nearest competitor over 14km, but it
was not enough.
The presence of Australians in rallying in
As car preparation skills, tuning skills, driving and navigation skills are
passed on to the Chinese, we are certain to see a Chinese driver emerge into
the world scene in the near future - the enthusiasm and dedication is certainly
there.
Pyyvaara and McLoughlin wish to thank Wei Long Racing and PerFOURmance
Motorsport for this opportunity. A full season is planned for 2004 including
driver and navigator training and testing.